In his Air Force days, Muellner was the top blue-suit acquisition official, and also the “father” of the Joint Strike Fighter; he was the director of the program that established joint requirements for what is now the F-35. His observation: If we were starting the JSF today, it would be a much different airplane. Range and persistence would be a bigger factor. The world is very different than it was in 1993.” Full disclosure: Muellner’s company, Boeing, lost out in the JSF competition.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.